Historical Events
1854 – American transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau publishes “Walden”
1862 – Berlioz’ opera “Beatrice et Benedict” premieres in Baden-Baden
1898 – Rudolf Diesel of Germany obtains patent #608,845 for his internal combustion engine, later known as the diesel engine
1908 – Tour de France: French road cyclist Lucien Petit-Breton successfully defends his title beating François Faber of Luxembourg
1936 – Hungarian swimmer Ferenc Csik wins 100m freestyle gold medal in 57.6 at the Berlin Olympics, beating Japanese pair Masanori Yusa and Shigeo Arai
1973 – USSR launches Mars 7
Famous Birthdays
1593 – Izaak Walton, English biographer and author (The Compleat Angler), born in Stafford, England (d. 1683)
1845 – Xavier Mellery, Belgian painter and illustrator, born in Laken, Belgium (d. 1921)
1920 – Enzo Biagi, Italian journalist and writer, born in Lizzano in Belvedere, Italy (d. 2007)
1957 – Melanie Griffith, American actress (Body Double, Working Girl), born in New York City
1969 – Divine Brown [Estelle Marie Thompson], American prostitute (Hugh Grant), born in Oakland, California
1973 – Kevin McKidd, Scottish actor Trainspotting; Grey’s Anatomy -“Owen Hunt”, born in Elgin, Moray, Scotland
Famous Deaths
1652 – John Dirksz Both, Dutch landscape painter and etcher, dies at about 37
1949 – Harry Davenport, American actor and director (Her Unborn Child, My Sin), dies at 83
2003 – Jacques Deray, French film director (b. 1929)
2004 – David Raksin, American composer renown for his work in film and TV (Laura, Modern Times), dies at 92
2008 – Mahmoud Darwish, Palestinian prominent poet and writer, dies at 66
2014 – Michael Brown, American shooting victim whose death provoked nationwide protests and civil unrest, shot dead by white Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson at 18